He says what we knew as kids. My DCM 20 buck carbine loves the 15 round magazine. The 30's did cause most of the problems. They looked cool,but mine stayed on the shelf and the 15 rounders were always with me. I cannot ever remembering having a FTF with my carbine using Lake City ammo.

Tin Can Sailor
'Nam Vet
NRA Endowment Member
President New Mexico Military Surplus Rifle Pistol Shooters

I'm having some issues with what Hackathorn was saying. It sounds to me what he is describing the issues that were encountered with the M2, NOT the M1 Carbine.

Think about it...

In WWII, the M1 Carbine was a MONUMENTAL success...In fact, perhaps one of the most successful small arms programs in US history.
1- They were in HUGE demand...Because the troops LOVED the Carbine
2- Tests had shown them to be at least as reliable as a Garand, perhaps a touch more reliable (although heavy rain was a problem and they never did figure out why).
3 - We went the entirety of WWII without any significant problems, and the little M1 was used in every corner of the globe where there was fighting to be done.

Issues with the M2:
1- Magazine! Just like the 30 round M16 magazine, the straight, then curved design of the M2's 30 rounder proved rather problematic. Add to that crappy magazine design the next item...
2 - Cyclic rate / Bolt travel: Again, same issue the M16 had (still has). When you combine the high cyclic rate with the fact that the bolt doesn't go very far past the magazine before it starts forward again...and you have a real "timing" issue for advancing the next round. Simply put, unless conditions are perfect, there's a lot of opportunity for issues. The magazine has binding issues when not fully cleaned AND lubricated. Civilians don't run into anywhere near the problems as the military did because we're not shooting full auto.

M1 Carbine in semi-auto with 15 round magazines was actually one of the most reliable gas action rifles of the war.